Thread: First irrigation job.

Thank You, I far as I know you need a license. You can do it if you are not registered business. ( AKA sense I am not 18 and dont pay taxes) but like you guys said it is not worth the risk. Oh well, I appreciate it very much. Have a good evening!

Pablo

Good decision not to do this. Your thinking about not being a "registered business" in probaby off though. Just because you are not "registered" you are performing it for profit which whether you admit it or not is business. Also do yourself a favor and run your business like a business, get the proper business licenses pay taxes & etc. You will be doing yourself a favor in the long run. For what it's worth I report people in my area. Not to be mean but because it affects the entire industry.

Thank You, I far as I know you need a license. You can do it if you are not registered business. ( AKA sense I am not 18 and dont pay taxes) but like you guys said it is not worth the risk. Oh well, I appreciate it very much. Have a good evening!

Pablo

You dodged a bullet there buddy. This may sound harsh, but just because your young, feel like you don't need to file income taxes, pay sales tax, or eventually franchise tax, does not mean you can install a system without a license.

The truth of the matter is that your conducting business illegally, and forcing down prices for the people that do it legit, pay all taxes, and support their families doing it.

Now that that's out there, your young and your learning. I am in Round Rock, and if you would like to sit on one of our crews during your summer break to learn your more than welcome.

Pablo,
I'd encourage you to take the class/test and get your license. I started working on my license right before I turned 18, took the test a few months after my 18th birthday. If you study hard and work at it you can pass it. It wasn't easy but I think you can handle it. It has been great having the license. I enjoy irrigation/landscaping and that is where I am trying to shift my business's focus to.
The only down side is that it isn't cheap to get your license, I think it ran me 700-800 to get mine plus commuting costs (gas, meals, etc) to the nearest class and to the test in College Station.
If you have the opportunity work with a guy like TXirrigation or another good company in your area I'd highly recommend going with that. Having the field experience under your belt is a major plus.
Mike

Pablo,
I'd encourage you to take the class/test and get your license. I started working on my license right before I turned 18, took the test a few months after my 18th birthday. If you study hard and work at it you can pass it. It wasn't easy but I think you can handle it. It has been great having the license. I enjoy irrigation/landscaping and that is where I am trying to shift my business's focus to.
The only down side is that it isn't cheap to get your license, I think it ran me 700-800 to get mine plus commuting costs (gas, meals, etc) to the nearest class and to the test in College Station.
If you have the opportunity work with a guy like TXirrigation or another good company in your area I'd highly recommend going with that. Having the field experience under your belt is a major plus.
Mike

Think of it this way, now you are encouraging a minor to compete against you as another unexperienced licensed contractor.

This new contractor with zero working experience is now competing with you.

Each time you shake your head and ask yourself "what was this guy thinking?" remember that you encourage poor workmanship by encouraging unqualified persons to purchase a professional licenese.

On top of that you are encouraging these same people to learn on the customers dime, oh and any work they take from you?, that's your dime too.

The only winner the way i see it is in the state coffers.Posted via Mobile Device

Think of it this way, now you are encouraging a minor to compete against you as another unexperienced licensed contractor.

This new contractor with zero working experience is now competing with you.

Each time you shake your head and ask yourself "what was this guy thinking?" remember that you encourage poor workmanship by encouraging unqualified persons to purchase a professional licenese.

On top of that you are encouraging these same people to learn on the customers dime, oh and any work they take from you?, that's your dime too.

The only winner the way i see it is in the state coffers.Posted via Mobile Device

First of all, this individual is 6 hrs away from my primary area of service. If he lived down the road from me I'd still say the same thing. We all have to learn!
Bottom line, around here there's plenty of work for everyone.
I am not saying that he should run out and get into business doing irrigation right away. I think he should work for someone else for a while and learn it. I wish I had. I'm lucky enough to have several "mentors" if you will that have taught me a lot.

With that said, I do agree that there should be a experience requirement to get your irrigator's license. There is on the backflow license. I don't even think the state even checks the experience references on the backflow license. So it really wouldn't do any good to require it on the irrigation license I guess. Who knows. I guess that's Texas for you. Its good and bad at the same time.

Think of it this way, now you are encouraging a minor to compete against you as another unexperienced licensed contractor.

This new contractor with zero working experience is now competing with you.

Each time you shake your head and ask yourself "what was this guy thinking?" remember that you encourage poor workmanship by encouraging unqualified persons to purchase a professional licenese.

On top of that you are encouraging these same people to learn on the customers dime, oh and any work they take from you?, that's your dime too.

The only winner the way i see it is in the state coffers.Posted via Mobile Device

I agree, which is why I offered him a chance to sit on a crew, and learn to do it right. Then I would be competing against someone offering a high quality product, which I do not mind. The more good contractors there are the better it is for everyone.Posted via Mobile Device

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems as though most of you are feigning annoyance because people are installing junk systems when you are actually just upset that you are losing the jobs. Sure that is frustrating, but are you certain that's a good enough reason to get the government to be your hired gun and kill off your competition?

Four years experience doing irrigation before you can test? That's absolute insanity.